Lock for sliding doors

ABSTRACT

A lock for sliding doors that is adapted to be easily installed on the lower left, lower right, upper left or upper right-hand corner of the sliding door. The lock prevents the sliding door from being moved in a horizontal or vertical position. The lock includes a housing with a movable plunger mounted therein which has a retracted and locking position. Locking means within the housing lock the plunger in its locking position. Key actuated means activate the locking means to release the plunger so that the plunger may be moved from its locking position to its retracted position.

Unlted States atent 11 1 1111 3,811,302 Sorensen May 21, W74

[ LOCK FOR SLIDING DOORS 1,390,403 9/1921 Voight 70/82 [76] Inventor: Donald E. Sorensen, 401 N. Rust h Trail, willow Springs, 1 04 0 Primary Examiner-Albert G. Craig, Jr. [22] Filed: July 26, 1972 ABSTRACT 57 [21] Appl. No: 275,185 1 g A lock for sliding doors that is adapted to be easily installed on the lower left, lower right, upper left or [5%] HSCCII. 70/1i(:)05,b72/51(2)g upper right hand comer of the sliding door The lock 2 P i 129 prevents the sliding door from being moved in a hori- 1 0 earc 292/130 1 zontal or vertical position. The lock includes a housing with a movable plunger mounted therein which has a retracted and locking position. Locking means within [56] References Clted the housing lock the plunger in its locking position. UNITED STATES PATENTS Key actuated means activate the locking means to re- 2,468,406 4/1949 Mora 70/129 lease the plunger so that the plunger may be moved 3,487,666 1/1970 Richards 70/150 from its locking position to its retracted position.

503,648 8/1893 Burbee 70/129 1.594.272 7/1926 $111111 292 173 3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures LOCK FOR SLIDING DOORS This invention relates to a lock for sliding doors used, for example, as a doorway between the interior and exterior of a home.

Sliding doors are often used in homes to provide access between the interior of the home and an exterior porch or patio. Such sliding doors are frequently the most vulnerable point of entry into the home by burglars, because the sliding doors do not have locks or the locks provided are inadequate and may be easily opened.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a lock for sliding doors which is easily installed, reduces the chances of entry through the sliding doors and may be used in different places on the sliding doors.

The lock of the present invention is adapted for use with sliding doors and is adapted to be easily installed upon the sliding door in a variety of positions. For example, the lock may be put on the lower left, lower right, upper left or upper right-hand corner of the sliding door, depending upon the position of the sliding door in its frame and whether there is a second sliding door used therewith.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pair of sliding doors utilizing locks of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view, partially in section, of the lock shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the lock shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the lock shown in FIG. I when the lock is in its locked position.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. I, there is illustrated two sliding doors l and 12 which each have a lock embodying the features of the present invention and indicated generally by reference number 14. The sliding doors l0 and 12 are, for exemplary purposes only, conventional glass doors which include a frame 16 and 18, respectively, which slides in upper and lower tracks 17 and 19, respectively. A lock 14 is secured to the inside lower left-hand corner of the frame 16 and another lock 14 is secured to the inside lower right-hand corner of the frame 18. The lock 14 permits the doors or 12, or both, to be locked when they are closed. When locked doors l0 and I2 cannot be opened nor can they be lifted upwardly out of their track 19, which is a method frequently used to remove a sliding door and gain access to the home.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the lock 14 will be discussed in greater detail. The lock 14 includes a housing 20 in which is mounted a vertically movable plunger 22. The plunger 22 has an actuation end 24 and a locking end 26. The actuation end 24 is pushed by hand to move the plunger 22 so that the locking end 26 extends into a hole (not shown) in the frame, floor. track or the like. below the lock 14. The position of the hole is dependent. of course, upon the position of the lock when the sliding door has been closed and in the position in which it is to be locked.

The plunger 22 is slideably mounted in a vertical passageway 28 extending through the housing 20. The plunger 22 has a slot 30 through which a fixed pin 32 extends. The pin and slot arrangement guides the plunger 22 and stops it when it has been pushed downwardly so that the locking end 26 is in the hole and the plunger 22 is in its locked position, as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2.

The plunger 22 has a groove 34 in its side into which a spring-biased locking means, indicated generally by reference number 36, extends (see FIG. 4) when the plunger 22 is pushed downwardly into its locked position. The locking means 36 holds the plunger 22 in its locking position until it is released by turning a keyactuated cam means indicated generally by reference numeral 38. The locking means 36 comprises a movable locking member 36a which is biased by a spring 36b so that it is constantly exerting a pressure upon the plunger 22. When the groove 34 alignes itself with the locking member 360, the locking member 360 moves into the groove 34 and locks the plunger 22 in its locked position (see FIG. 4).

The key-actuated cam means 38 is mounted in the housing 20 and includes a cam housing 38a and a cam 38b rotatably mounted therein. The cam 38b is rotated by a key 380 and has an eccentric projection 38d which extends into a slot 36c in the locking member 36a. When the locking member 36a is in its locking position, i.e., when it has moved to the right such that it is in the groove 34 when viewing FIGS. 2 and 4, the projection 38d is against one end of the slot 36c as seen in FIG. 4. Upon rotation of the key 380 the projection 38d moves to the left (as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4) against the force of the spring 3617 and releases the plunger 22, which may then be moved by hand out of the hole into which it has been inserted to lock the door. In this way, the sliding door is unlocked and free to move again on the track.

When the key 38c is rotated back to its normal position the locking means 36 is free to be urged toward the right again by the spring 36b. The cam 38b has two stop projections 38a and 38f which prevent the cam 38b from being turned too far when the key 380 is used to release the locking means 36 and to return the cam 38b to its normal position, respectively.

Extending from one end of the housing 20 is a securing pin 42 which will extend into a hole (not shown) in the door frame, wall, or the like when the lock 14 is in its locked position. The securing pin 42 prevents the lock 14 from being moved in a vertical direction and thus prevents the sliding doors l0 and 12 from being moved upwardly out of the track 19. On the opposite end of the housing 20 there is a rubber-coated projection 44 which, in effect, serves as a bumper knob. For example, referring to FIG. 1, the lock 14 on the door 12 may bump into the frame 16 of the sliding door 10 when either door is opened. The bumper 44 prevents damage to the frame or the lock 14 if such contact should occur.

The housing 20 has a plurality of holes 40 extending therethrough which permit the lock 14 to be mounted with either face adjacent the frame of the door. These holes and the position of the securing pin 42 and projection 44 permit the lock 14 to be used on any corner of the sliding door.

While the embodiment described herein is at present considered to be preferred, it is understood that various modifications and improvements may be made, and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications and improvements as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A lock for a sliding door, movable along a horizontal track, adapted for mounting in any corner of said door comprising:

a housing having a vertically extending opening;

a plunger, having a slot and a groove, movably mounted in said opening, said plunger having a retracted position and a locked position, and said plunger further having an actuation end extending from said housing when said plunger is in said retracted position, and a locking end extending from said housing when said plunger is in said locked position;

a stationary guide pin secured within said housing extending through said slot in said plunger;

a spring-biased locking member movably mounted within said housing and adapted to extend into said groove in said plunger when said plunger is in its locked position;

a cam engagable with said spring-biased locking member to release said plunger and permit said 5 plunger to be moved to its retracted position; and 

1. A lock for a sliding door, movable Along a horizontal track, adapted for mounting in any corner of said door comprising: a housing having a vertically extending opening; a plunger, having a slot and a groove, movably mounted in said opening, said plunger having a retracted position and a locked position, and said plunger further having an actuation end extending from said housing when said plunger is in said retracted position, and a locking end extending from said housing when said plunger is in said locked position; a stationary guide pin secured within said housing extending through said slot in said plunger; a spring-biased locking member movably mounted within said housing and adapted to extend into said groove in said plunger when said plunger is in its locked position; a cam engagable with said spring-biased locking member to release said plunger and permit said plunger to be moved to its retracted position; and a securing pin extending outwardly from said housing in a direction perpendicular to said plunger for retarding vertical forces applied to said sliding door, whereby said sliding door cannot be moved along said track, or raised off of said track when said plunger is in said locked position.
 2. The lock of claim 1 wherein said cam is actuated by a key.
 3. The lock of claim 1 wherein said housing includes a plurality of openings extending therethrough by which said housing may be attached to said sliding door. 